Wales Lose Out To Eventual Winners In Hong Kong Sevens
Wales were narrowly defeated 19-12 by England in the IRB Hong Kong Sevens semi-finals and saw their victors go on to win the tournament, this weekend.
The England Sevens made history, winning the tournament for the first time when they beat Fiji 33-20 in the Final.
Gloucester’s James Simpson-Daniel weighed in with a hat-trick and Cambridge University’s Simon Amor contributed 13 points including a 50 metre solo try.
It’s the first time England have won the prestigious tournament, and only the second team from the northern hemisphere to have won it after the Barbarians in 1981.
In the semi-final Fiji had slogged out a tough victory over bitter rivals New Zealand with moments of brilliance from Waisale Serevi. In the other semi-final England accounted for Wales.
The win for England means that five different countries have won tournaments in the World Sevens Series, making this year’s competition the most open since it began back in 1999.
The Fijians were the hot favourites to win after sending New Zealand packing in the semi-final.
South Africa, surprise departures from the Cup, smashed Scotland in the plate final while Morocco just beat Chinese Taipei to win the bowl.
The semis of the cup saw two sets of “old enemies” in action when New Zealand met Fiji and England met Wales.
The results of the knock-out rounds on Sunday:
Cup Quarter-finals
New Zealand vs Argentina, 24-0
Fiji vs Australia, 33-17
England vs Samoa, 19-5
Wales vs Canada 21-0
Plate Quarter-finals
South Africa vs Papua New Guinea, 40-0
France vs Korea, 28-26
Scotland vs Portugal, 12-7
USA vs Hong Kong, 34-12
Bowl Quarter-final
Singapore vs Japan, 19-17
Chinese Taiwan vs Russia, 10-5
Morocco vs Sri Lanka, 14-5
China vs Thailand, 38-17
Semi-final results:
Cup
Fiji vs New Zealand, 10-7
England vs Wales, 19-12
Plate
South Africa vs France, 26-5
Scotland vs USA, 14-10
Bowl
Chinese Taiwan vs Singapore, 41-0
Morocco vs China, 33-5
Finals
Cup
England vs Fiji, 33-20
Plate
South Africa vs Scotland, 48-7
Bowl
Morocco vs Chinese Taiwan, 15-12
